Vox Populi: Restaurant Rater dcdiner on Cashion’s Eat Place

It's been more than two years since Ann Cashion and John Fulchino sold Cashion's Eat Placeto long-time sous chef John Manolatos, who promised to uphold the standards of the beloved Adams Morgan eatery. Manolatos and his partners even said as much on their Web site.

Restaurant Rater dcdiner, however, isn't buying it. Take a look at this brutal assessment:

The reviews here are very old, when Cashion's was in fact a wonderful restaurant that I visited frequently. Things have gone downhill dramatically.

In fact, the departure of Ann Cashion has had disasterous consequences. I had a Sunday brunch there on 01/10/2010. The food was pedestrian at best – tasteless scrambled eggs and boring potatoes. We could have eaten at any number of nearby (cheaper) diners and had much better food at less cost. On top of that the waitress, without the slightest hint of concern, announced there was no bread because of "delivery problems". Sorry, at a place like that you expect some wonderful muffins or rolls at brunch, not a surly waitress announcing "tough luck".

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY – my once favorite restaurant is long gone, and the current management, made aware of these issues, made it clear they're not interested. ANN CASHION – WHY ARE YOU ALLOWING YOUR NAME TO STILL BE USED BY THIS POOR EXCUSE FOR "FINE DINING"?

Do you have a different take on Cashion's? Then what are you waiting for? Sign in (or sign up) and give us your review!

Cashion's current owner were too lazy or stupid to run up to Safeway and buy some ready to bake substitute at least? Cashion's was a favorite. Thanks for the heads up! Ann worked her butt off which is a big reason why it was so good.
Where is Ann Cashion? Back in NOLA getting inspiration again?

David Gossett

I tend to disagree with the review; I've been eating at Cashion's for 12 years. The last 3-4 years of the Ann Cashion era were when I didn't like it -- the menu never changed, and the food, while relatively well prepared, was just boring. Since the changeover, though, things have been far more interesting. My wife and I ate at Cashion's this past Friday night (2/12), and had a quite-nice meal: I had a sumptuous soup and extremely well prepared fish; I forget what my wife had, but she was quite happy with it. And speaking of the bread, it was perhaps the best I've had at a restaurant this year; so good that I asked if they baked it themselves. They do not; they get it from a bakery in Alexandria that deals only with restaurants (they told me its name, but I don't remember it.) The wine list continues to have a wide variety of quite interesting wines on it, fairly reasonably priced -- especially if you are willing to leave the old standbys behind. All in all, I was very pleased with our dinner, and I tend to be quite a harsh critic.

Caroline Swift

I agree with the second commenter, and not with the reviewer or the first. I have been eating at Cashion's regularly for over a decade. I agree that just before the change in ownership, the menu lost some of its creativity; the quality, however, has always been high.

In my view, the changes since the takeover have not diminished the quality of the food in the slightest. The menu has items that rotate in and out and yet experimentation and creativity are the consistent themes, with new preparations appearing regularly.

I ate dinner there on Thursday, 2/11... in the afternath of the second blizzard. I had a salad and bison brisket, each perfectly prepared. My escort had lamb, which was amazing; it melted in the mouth. The dishes were so well-presented I took pictures of them to email to Cashion's-lovers I know who have moved away... and they tasted even better.

Moreover, the service has always been impeccable (and as a former server and manager I can be quite critical) and the new ownership has improved what has always been a fantastic wine list. Due to my work I have eaten at almost every good restaurant in DC over the past 10 years... and Cashion's remains, as it has been for some time, my favorite.

Mike on H Street

I'm not convinced by this review.

Scrambled eggs and potatoes?

You order scrambled eggs and potatoes to judge whether or not a place is living up to its promise of creative, quality food?

Seems like a dinner service might be a better measure of how things are going...or at least something more unique than scrambled eggs and potatoes.

Andrew

This review is off base. I'm kind of disappointed in young & hungry for publishing a third party review that reads like that of an immature disgruntled yelper. (no offense to all the reasoned mature yelpers out there) Further, it's beyond me why someone would attempt to judge a fine dining place based on their brunch. And while it sounds like the experience was pretty poor, dcdiner's choices show a serious lack of creativity, especially when there are delicious choices like the bison burger or pork hash available. And no bread? Again, that sucks, but I respect Cashion's choice not to serve any product they're not 100% behind, so why risk it on some crap from Safeway, especially when their bread is complimentary in the first place. I hope that most like Mike on H St will not be convinced by this review.

AM Local

DCdiner clearly has an agenda in writing this review. I don't know if the folks at Cashion's accidently ran over his dog or what, but the review is absurd. First, as noted in the intro the current chef and part-owner was the long-time sous chef and was doing ALL of the cooking when Ann sold the restaurant -- so to say that the cooking was great before and bad afterwards ignores the fact that the same people were actually doing the cooking.

Second, what kind of reviewer eats one brunch at a place and then proclaims it to be terrible. Cashion's cooks brunch once a week, why not try a dinner which they serve 6 nights a week before accusing them of slandering Ann's good name. Poor journalism is irresponsible -- and DCdiner is clearly that.

As locals who have eaten at Cashion's an average of 4 times a month for almost 10 years, my wife and I can say Cashion's is doing some of the best cooking it has ever done. We dine all over the city and always end up back at Cashion's because they have one of the most varied menus and do game and offal better than just about everybody else in the city.

Pappy

For someone to pan a restaurant after a single visit for BRUNCH, of all things, is irresponsible.

For a popular city website to feature that review is just stupid.

DogsofDC

Review is wrong; Cashion’s is excellent.The late night Sat menu has been a real asset of quality for busy people, those who must work into the evening, or people involved in volunteer work or care-giving who then want quality food in a nice setting.
CityPaper should be careful about using DC Diner again as a reviewer, he/she is so off-base as not to be credible and/or is carrying a grudge.
Review does not reflect the good quality and fine execution and risk-tasking with fresh ingredients accomplished by the current Cashion's. The inflammatory, high school rhetoric of the reviewer is a dead give-away. Seems strange the CP published this.

Tim Carman

Everyone,

I want to talk a minute about why I decided to publish this: The Y&H blog is a public forum and as part of its mission, I publish diner opinions, good, bad or otherwise. I often publish public commentary that I disagree with. But in doing so, I hope that it offers a chance for the rest of the readers here to chime in, straighten the record out, and provide some perspective. I think all of that has been accomplished here. The vast majority of commenters support Cashion's, so now anyone looking for good up-to-date commentary will not see not just DCdiner's opinion but all of yours. What's more, I think DCdiner probably learned a hard lesson about "reviewing" restaurants. Maybe some others have as well.